A Few Great Gift Ideas For Dad!

As a dad, I thought I'd help a few of you out with a few gift ideas.  Believe it or not, we love the ties and sweaters and slippers, they're lovely, but how about trying something a little different this year.  Dads are usually hard to buy for, because they don't require much.  I know buying for my dad is impossible. 

After Christmas last year, I wrote a post about one of my favorite gifts--the Keurig Coffee Maker.  I called it my "new favorite thing."  Here it is a year later, and it's still my favorite thing.  I use it every day and I still think it makes great coffee and tea.  Actually I have two of them (wife gave me one, and daughter gave me one so I guess the hints worked well)--I took one to work.  I've got a few favorites when it comes to the K-Cup varieties--my favorites include Donut House Extra Bold and Caribou Morning Blend.  But Starbucks have come out with a few that are good too--including their popular Pike's Place brew.  They've got something for any taste from very mild to "holy crap!"  And the tea selections have gotten better over the past year too--Tazo is now available in K-Cups.  A Keurig would be at the top of my list if I was looking for a gift for a java junkie.

Another nifty toy I never thought I'd like is a Nook.  I thought I was a book-reading purist, and I'd miss the tactil experience of reading on an electronic screen.  Guess what?  I don't miss paper that much.  I bought one about a year and half ago, and I'm seldom without it.  So if dad likes to read, try that, and put a few books he'd like on it so he can try it out right away, perhaps the entire Todd E. Creason library would be a good thing to load on it.  That would be my suggestion anyway.  Once he starts reading it, getting used to it takes very little time, and the inability to leave the house without it sets in almost immediately--wallet, keys, phone, Nook.

There's a couple choices to think about.  Of course there's a Nook Color, which doesn't appeal to me much because I'm a book reader, and black and white is fine for what I do.  But if dad reads a lot of magazines or comics, that color version is very nice.  And there's the new black and white reader with a touch screen (I have the old one)--the Nook Simple Touch.  If dad just reads books, that's the one you should get.  I am very, very tempted by that one (the guy at Barnes & Noble let me borrow one during my visit the other day.)  I'll probably wind up with one eventually, but I still like the one I have.

You know another thing dad might like--a nice hat.  Delmonico Hatter has a great selection, and I highly recommend them as an online seller.  Their service in impeccible, and they carry everything from western hats, to fedoras, Stetsons to Tilleys.  I'd recommend a nice wool winter hat--I've been wearing a Tilley winter hat for about a month now, and I just love it.  It's toasty warm, and very comfortable.  There are a number of different models, find one you think dad would like, and get it for him.  The bonus is you can do this without leaving the house--they ship right to your door, and usually the shipping is free.

And if you don't know his hat size, there's an easy way to get it.  Find a hat he wears all the time.  If it's fitted (like a western hat or a higher end ball cap) the size will be inside the rim.  If it's one of those "one size fits all" adjustable numbers, borrow moms sewing tape measure and measure around the inside rim of the hat--there is a chart that will convert that inch measurement to hat size.  Easy huh?  And if you'd like to buy your favorite author a hat, that's a 7 3/8. 

So take good care of dad this year, and have a Merry Christmas,

~TEC